Originally published January 6 2006
Microbial research may pay dividends for clean fuel industry
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A microbe known as Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans shows potential for bolstering the development of clean fuels, as scientists from the Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) found it produces hydrogen gas as waste.
Take a pot of scalding water, remove all the oxygen, mix in a bit of poisonous carbon monoxide, and add a pinch of hydrogen gas.
It sounds like a recipe for a witch's brew.
It may be, but it is also the preferred environment for a microbe known as Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans.
In a paper published in the November 27th issue of PLoS Genetics, a research team led by scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) report the determination and analysis of the complete genome sequence of this organism.
"C. hydrogenoformans is one of the fastest-growing microbes that can convert water and carbon monoxide to hydrogen," remarks TIGR evolutionary biologist Jonathan Eisen, senior author of the PLoS Genetics study.
Most other organisms that live on carbon monoxide have only one form of this machine.
In other words, while other organisms may have the equivalent of a modest mixing bowl to process their supper of carbon monoxide, this species has a veritable food processor, letting it gorge on a hot spring buffet all day.
"The findings show the continued value of microbial genome sequencing for exploring the useful capabilities of the vast realm of microbial life on Earth," says Ari Patrinos, director of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research, part of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science.
Organisms that make spores have attracted great interest recently because this is a process found in the bacterium that causes anthrax.
By comparing this genome to those of other spore-making species, including the anthrax pathogen, Eisen and colleagues identified what may be the minimal biochemical machinery necessary for any microbe to sporulate.
Thus studies of this poison eating microbe may help us better understand the biology of the bacterium that causes anthrax.
Building off this work, TIGR scientists are leveraging the information from the genome of this organism to study the ecology of microbes living in diverse hot springs, such as those in Yellowstone National Park.
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